Chapter 24 A Game Has Started
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The clock on Deborah’s office wall ticked softly, its sound sharp against the heavy silence that filled the glass-walled room. The sun had barely risen over the city skyline, washing Valmere Tower in a dull silver glow. Everyone else was still at home, asleep or pretending to be, but she had been here since dawn, drowning herself in work she couldn’t even focus on.
Sleep had been impossible. Her mind kept spinning, replaying every word, every look, every breath that Selene had thrown at her last night. The woman’s smug smile, the way she sat on their couch as if she owned it, as if she belonged there, it all made Deborah’s blood boil. She wasn’t supposed to let emotions affect her, but this wasn’t business. This was personal.
She was scanning through financial reports for the fourth time when her phone buzzed against the desk. The screen flashed one name that made her chest tighten before she could stop herself.
LUTHER C.
Her fingers hovered over the phone. For a long second, she debated ignoring it. They weren’t supposed to be talking, not after what happened, not after she lied to Knight that she’d cut him off. But curiosity and something deeper, something she refused to name, pushed her thumb to accept the call.
“Luther?” Her voice came out calm, cool, the way she always sounded in boardrooms.
“Good morning, baby,” Luther replied, his voice deep and steady, though there was an undercurrent of tension beneath it. “I take it you’re already in the office?”
“Where else would I be?” she said, leaning back in her chair. “What do you need?”
“This isn’t just a courtesy call,” he said after a pause. “I found something last night. And you’re not going to like it.”
Her stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“I was doing a routine scan through our shared finance databases,” Luther explained. “Checking up on the partnership files for next quarter. But when I went deeper, I noticed an anomaly. Someone accessed your company’s private financial data, off the record.”
Deborah straightened in her seat. “That’s impossible. Our system is secured by three levels of encryption.”
“Not impossible,” Luther corrected, his tone flat. “Just internal.”
Her heart skipped. “You’re saying someone inside Valmere hacked our files?”
“I’m saying whoever did this knew exactly where to look,” Luther said. She could hear the faint clacking of his keyboard as he spoke, his voice calm but cold. “They bypassed every security wall like they built it themselves. Offshore accounts, expense reports, private transactions, even your personal files.”
Her breath caught. “My....what?”
“Your personal data,” he repeated quietly. “Someone’s been watching you.”
The words sent a chill up her spine. Deborah rose from her chair and walked to the wide glass window that overlooked the city, her reflection ghostly in the morning light. “Who would even—”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out,” Luther interrupted. “I traced the breach. It originated inside your network, but the signal bounced to an external IP. I followed the trail.” He hesitated. “Deborah… the name that appeared in the encryption logs, was Selene.”
Deborah froze. “That’s not possible.”
“It’s her,” he said firmly. “And she wasn’t working alone. The signal was shared with another external device. Registered under a man named Samuel Cortez.”
Her head turned sharply. The name felt like a slap. “Cortez?”
“The same one who sided with you during the last meeting,” Luther confirmed. “Turns out, he’s been corresponding with Selene through encrypted channels for months. They’ve exchanged information, specifically, Valmere’s financial projections and shareholder reports.”
Deborah gripped the edge of her desk, her knuckles white. “You’re telling me Selene and Samuel Cortez are working together?”
“Yes. And they used a mole inside your company to get access to everything,” Luther said, his voice hard. “Someone in your finance division. Probably someone close enough to have direct codes.”
Her mind raced through the list of employees, faces flashing through her memory. None of them stood out, not yet. “Did you find out who the insider is?”
“Not yet,” Luther admitted. “But I’m close. Whoever it is, they’ve been leaking your company’s numbers for weeks. I’m guessing Selene and Cortez are planning something bigger. Maybe trying to manipulate Valmere’s upcoming merger announcement.”
Deborah’s pulse pounded in her ears. “She’s living under the same roof,” she muttered. “Eating at our table, smiling in front of my brothers, while stabbing us from behind.”
“Exactly why you can’t tell them yet,” Luther said sharply. “If Selene finds out we know, she’ll erase everything. We need her to think she’s safe. That no one suspects her.”
Deborah turned away from the window, crossing her arms tightly. “So what do we do?”
“For now, nothing,” Luther replied. “You and I work quietly. I’ll monitor her communications and trace the mole. You stay close to her and act normal. When I have enough evidence, we take it straight to the authorities, or your brothers, if you prefer to handle it personally.”
She nodded slowly. “You think she’s after the company?”
“I think she’s after control,” he said darkly. “Once she marries Aston, she’ll have access to the family assets. Pair that with insider information, and she could easily stage a financial coup.”
The word marry burned in Deborah’s chest. She ignored it, keeping her voice steady. “You sound like you’ve thought this through.”
“I have,” Luther said. “And Deborah, I’m doing this because I trust you.”
She blinked, caught off guard. “Trust me?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “Because I know you’ll fight for what’s right, even when it hurts. Because I know you’re smarter than anyone gives you credit for. And because—” He stopped, the silence between them deep and heavy.
“And because?” she pressed, her voice barely above a whisper.
His tone softened, lower now. “Because I love you. Whether you admit it or not, part of you still does too.”
Deborah’s breath hitched. “Wha—”
He cut her off gently. “Don’t say anything. Not now. Just… stay careful, alright? I’ll send you everything I have. And Deborah…”
“What?”
“I love you!”
The call ended before she could respond.
Deborah stared at her phone for a long time before lowering it onto her desk. She could hear her heartbeat in the quiet, steady, relentless, furious.
Her computer pinged. A message from Luther’s secure server flashed across the screen. She opened it, and lines of encrypted data filled her monitor: stolen transactions, timestamps, secret chat logs. Her eyes widened as she scrolled through them, one message thread stood out.
S.C.: The codes worked. I’m in. Valmere’s numbers match our predictions.
S.L.: Good. Keep quiet until after the wedding. Once I’m part of the family, everything will fall into place.
Deborah’s fingers tightened on the mouse. The faint reflection of her own face glared back at her from the black screen, cold, unblinking.
Her chest burned, not just with anger, but resolve.
Selene thought she could manipulate her family. Thought she could play house with Aston while tearing the Valmere name from within. Not anymore.
Deborah closed the laptop slowly and whispered to herself, “You wanted a game, Selene? Let me give you one.”